I want an F
by KennDemon
Summary: It's a new year at Fumizuki Academy, and there are new second year students. Among the returning students are two kids new to the school, twins Ken (the secretly intelligent class rep of class F) and Sakura (class F's own probationary student). Along with their friends, they aim to lead class F to victory against every other second year class!
1. Chapter 1

_Well, this is it._ I thought to myself, gripping the small piece of paper tightly in my hands. _I just hope I did the right thing._ I took a deep breath and started to unfold the paper, not allowing myself to think about what I'd do if I had screwed up.

"F!" The declaration came from beside me. With my paper only half unfolded, I looked over at my sister, Sakura, who had her arms stretched out, stressing her own paper to its limits. She had a grin on her face as she turned to look at me. "I'm in class F!" She stated. "What about you, Ken-kun?"

_Okay._ I thought, turning back to my paper. As I had expected, Sakura's grades had landed her in class F. _Now please just let me be in the same class._ I shut my eyes tightly and prayed while opening the final fold to reveal my class.

"Wow!" Sakura gasped before I could open my eyes. Her response to whatever my class was made my heart plummet. I knew that I had good grades, good enough for class A. That's probably where I had ended up. When I opened my eyes, a few tears fell from them. Sakura and I were going to be slit up.

"Why are you crying, Ken-kun?" Sakura asked, reaching over to wipe a tear from my cheek. "There's nothing wrong with being in F class."

"But we're not together!" I cried, grabbing her hand.

She tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What are you talking about?" She asked. She pointed at the paper in my hands. "We're both in class F."

"Huh?" I looked down. Sure enough, Sakura was pointing at a messy letter F. I felt a huge smile spread across my face. I noticed what probably made her gasp, and it was just the fact that I was the class representative. I didn't care about that.

In my happiness, I grabbed Sakura's hands and started jumping up and down, something that I hadn't done since I was a little kid. "We're in the same class!" I said happily.

Sakura's expression matched mine. "Come on!" She said, grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the school building. "Let's go meet our classmates." She was hopping slightly as she walked.

Then she suddenly stopped and looked down at the paper crushed in her hands. "Hey, Ken-kun?" She whispered, looking up at me. "What does probationary mean?"

I blinked twice at her, and then burst out laughing. It didn't surprise me one bit that my sister was a probationary student.

* * *

"Hello!" Sakura cried out as she threw open the classroom door. The run down wooden frame bounced when it hit its limit and then came off the track. I caught it before it could fall to the ground and gently rested it back in place, hoping the teacher wouldn't notice. He was already in the room, and it didn't look like he cared.

The students already in the room all looked up from their small little tables. They all had the same expression of surprise on their faces.

"Welcome to class F." The teacher said in a monotone voice. "Just have a seat anywhere."

"Yay!" Sakura said happily. She stretched her arms out and ran like a little kid down the row of seated students. When she reached the back of the room, she turned to the window. "I call the window seat!" She declared, plopping down beside it. Almost immediately a draft blew through the broken glass and a shiver passed through her body. "For Ken-kun." She added, quickly moving over one seat.

"Thanks." I said sarcastically, taking the seat she had vacated. I was aware that everyone else was staring at us, but I tried to ignore it, since I knew why and there was nothing I could do about it.

"Now that we're all here," The teacher said in his same monotone voice. "Let's start with-"

He was cut off by the chalkboard behind him. It wasn't attached to the wall very well and at that instant decided that it didn't like being there. It fell from the wall, right onto the teacher's head.

"Will you excuse me for a moment." The teacher said (still monotone). He turned to the door, chalkboard still on his head, and walked out of the room.

I wasn't sure what to think, but Sakura was giggling away beside me. Taking her lead, the entire class erupted in laughter. A smile spread across my face at the sound. _If this is how school is going to be, I like it._

"Hey." The boy in front of Sakura spun around on his mat and grinned. He had puffy green hair and bangs that came to a point between his eyes. "I'm Hamada Yukio."

Sakura grinned back. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Sakura Aida."

I leaned toward her a little. "Other way." I whispered.

The slight look of panic on her face was to be expected. "Oops!" She covered her mouth quickly. "I mean Aida Sakura." She blushed slightly. "Sorry."

Yukio shook his head. "No worries." He said. Then his grin dropped and he looked at Sakura seriously. "Are you a foreigner?"

"Yuki-o!" The girl sitting beside Yukio threw an arm around his neck and put him in a headlock. "Don't just go around asking people what their nationality is!"

Yukio made a choking sound. "Okay, okay." He pounded a fist on the floor. "I give! I give!" The girl let him go and he gasped for air. "Man, Kanami, you've gotten even more manish since last year."

"What was that?!" The girl, Kanami, grabbed Yukio's arm and twisted it behind his back. I'm sure I heard something crack.

I thought I should do something before she broke his arm. "Well, then." I said, making both of them look at me. "You must have been the goddess Aphrodite last year, because you look like a lovely young lady." I really hoped that didn't sound as Host Club as I thought it did.

Kanami blinked at me, still gripping Yukio's arm. "What?" She asked. She had her long navy hair tied back in a high ponytail with a red ribbon, and it flopped around as she looked between me and Sakura, who was going 'aw'.

_Right._ I thought. _This is F class._ "Aphrodite. The Greek goddess of love a beauty."

Kanami blinked at me again and then dropped Yukio's arm. "You really think so?!" She asked, her eyes shining.

"Um, yeah." I nodded.

She stuck her hand out to me. "Satake Kanami."

I reached out and shook her hand. "Aida Ken." I introduced myself.

Suddenly a light flashed beside my face. I blinked the pain it caused away and turned to look. The boy who sat in front of me had turned around and had a camera aimed at me, He snapped another shot before lowering it and grinning. He had spiky teal hair and looked mature for a second year middle school student.

"Great shots." He said, cradling his camera. "We're lucky class F got a girl as cute as you."

My mouth fell open. "I'm a boy!" I cried, placing a hand on my blue tie.

"Sure you are." He said winking. He stuck his hand in my direction. "The name's Shima Takumi. Cute girls are my specialty."

"But I'm-" I started. Then I heard Sakura giggling. When I looked at her, she was looking between me and Takumi with a glossy look in her eyes. I glared at her. "No!"

I turned back to Takumi and slammed my hands down on the table in front of me. "I'm-" The table snapped right in two under the pressure. I fell forward, hitting my chin on the ground. The table lay in pieces around me.

_Maybe,_ I thought, as Takumi snapped another picture, this one of my ass. _I made the wrong call getting into class F._


	2. Chapter 2

"Teacher, my cushion disintegrated!"

"Make do with it."

"Teacher, a rat just ran off with my pencil!"

"Chase after it."

"Teacher, the creepy custodian is staring at me through the broken door!"

"Just put up with it."

I clenched my jaw as the complaints kept coming. This was no environment to be learning, but the teacher didn't seem to care. As he droned on about the English language, I took out my student handbook and went over the school rules. I paid specific attention to the details on ST battles.

* * *

"Alright everyone!" I said, clapping my hands down on the desk at the front of the room. It was free period, and I was taking the opportunity to make plans. "We are going to launch an attack!"

Every single one of my classmates looked at me with surprise.

"But they'll wipe the floor with us!" Yukio complained from the back.

_This floor could use a good wiping._ I thought, but that wasn't the thing to say to instill confidence. "No, they won't." I promised. "We just need a strategy." I scanned the room, taking in every face. "What is everyone's best subject?"

The room was quiet for a while. I was beginning to loose my confidence when suddenly Takumi got to his feet. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he answered my question. "Female anatomy."

I groaned, not even stopping Kanami when she slammed Takumi's face into the floor. The splintering didn't even show up.

Then Sakura stood up. Everyone turned to look at her. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Cooking." She said with a smile.

I nodded, grateful that she had spoken. "See." I said to the rest of the class. "Sakura's best subject is Home Ec. What about everyone else?"

I listened as the subjects flooded my ears. I was pleased with the results. While the class had the lowest marks in the school, the majority of them said they were good at Math. It sounded like that was the kind of fight we were going to have.

"Alright." I said, moving on. "We'll have a math war with class E to start things off. Yukio, go deliver the message to them."

"What?!" He cried. "Why do I have to? The messenger always gets the crap beat out of him. Just ask Akihisa from class 3-F."

I sighed heavily. _This is going to take a while._ I looked down at the desk in front of me. _But it will be fine. All we need is a win to get our confidence up._

"I'll go." I looked up and saw Sakura already headed for the door. She was even skipping. "It will be fun."

"Ah, wait!" I tried to call after her, but she had already left.

"She's brave." I heard someone whisper.

"Or just stupid." Someone else responded.

I wanted to shout at him for calling my sister stupid, but I couldn't. I couldn't, because I agreed with him. The whole reason I was even in class F was because I wanted to look out for Sakura and make sure that she didn't do something too stupid.

* * *

"I declare this an ST battle!"

I could hear the teacher outside of the classroom, and then the field opened and swallowed the room. I couldn't see what was happening in the hallway, because the door was blocked by my classmates. They were all ready to go into battle. I listened as they summoned their avatars.

"This is exciting!" Sakura said, standing beside me.

I nodded, a little nervous. I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more that I should do. _I can't just stand here._ I knew that it was over if I was defeated, but I still wanted to do something.

Then I thought of it. A recovery test.

"I'll be back soon." I told Sakura. Then I pushed my way through the crowd of students, making sure to remain hidden from the eyes of class E.

I left the summon field and dashed along the hallway until I came to an open door. Peeking inside, I saw a teacher, so I went in.

"Yes?" The teacher said, looking at me.

"I'd like to take a recovery test!" I stated.

"Already?" I nodded. "Well then, alright." She nodded at a desk in front of her. "Just be aware that-"

"If I score lower than what I already have, my strength will go down." I took the seat. "I know, I know."

The teacher didn't look too happy at being interrupted. "What subject do you want?"

"All of them."


	3. Chapter 3

When I finished my recovery test, I was pretty pleased with my score. I hurried back to the fight, confident that there was no way we could lose. _We might even stand a chance against class A if I help the others study._

When I entered the summon field, I was met by a surprise. I had been expecting to see avatars everywhere, but there weren't. In fact, there were hardly any. For a moment, I panicked, thinking that my classmates had all been defeated. Then I noticed the letters on the avatars. All but one of them were from class F.

"Let's go!" I heard Sakura shout. The class F avatars, led by an avatar that could only have been Sakura's (with her long blond hair with a slight wave to it), all charged at the remaining class E avatar, who must have been their rep's.

"You won't beat me!" a boy on the other side of the battle stated. He matched the appearance of the remaining avatar.

"We may not be the smartest!" Sakura countered. "But we can work together to bring you down!"

I watched as the class F avatars attacked. They weren't very strong, but with so many attacking in quick succession, the class E avatar didn't stand a chance.

"I declare class F the winner!" The overseeing teacher declared.

The class E rep scowled. "Fine." He spat. "What do you want?"

I blinked as everyone turned to me. I hadn't really thought about what to take from class E if we won. The point of the battle had been to instill confidence in the class. "Um…" I thought hard, trying to narrow down on just one thing that we needed.

My decision was made in an odd way. The old sign that hung above the hall, identifying our classroom as class F, broke. The piece of wood fell to the ground, landing on Sakura's avatar's head.

"Owchie!" Sakura cried out, covering her head. Being a probationary student, she felt the pain that her avatar felt.

I looked up at the sign, and then over at our broken door. I smiled when I decided what to do. "All we want," I said, looking at the class E rep. "Is a new sign and door."

The class E rep looked at me with a surprised expression. Then he looked at the teacher, who nodded. "That can be arranged."

"Yay!" Class F cheered as one.

Sakura grabbed my hands and started jumping up and down. "We did it! We did it!"

"Yup." I nodded. _And they did it without my help._ I found that I had so much faith in this class. _That's it._ I decided. _I am going to lead the best 2-F class this school has ever seen! We will take down every other class!_

* * *

**AN: Sorry this one's so short. I promise that there will be a longer one coming soon. Thank you very much for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

"Music! Music!" Sakura chanted, twirling as she walked. She was in a really good mood this morning. A month into the new school year, class F was finally going to have its first music class. I knew that Sakura loved music, as did I, so we were both in a good mood.

"I want to sing!" Sakura stated, turning to face me. She grinned. "You sing with me, okay?"

I laughed. "Okay." I agreed.

"Yay!" Sakura jumped happily and continued to walk and chant.

She didn't stop chanting until we reached the classroom. Then she walked in and her face fell. "What is all that?" She asked as I stepped in behind her.

There was random junk lying in a pile at the front of the room. The other students were all there, sitting at their desks. They didn't seem too bothered by the pile. I wondered how often I could expect to find junk dumped in here.

"What is that stuff?" Sakura asked Kanami as she sat down.

Kanami didn't look very happy as she answered. "Those are class F's instruments."

"What?!" Both Sakura and I exclaimed at the same time. We looked back at the pile. It didn't look like instruments. I was sure that I saw a broken ruler and old tissue box among the stuff.

Then the classroom door slid open. A thin man with glasses stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "Alright, class F. It's time for music class." He didn't sound happy at all. He walked to the desk at the front of the room and sat down.

I was aware of Sakura staring at the teacher eagerly. I could almost feel the life drain from her when he pulled out a book and started reading. The rest of the class started talking amongst themselves.

"I don't get it." Sakura breathed. "Aren't we going to have music class?"

"Nobody cares." Yukio answered her. "While we do get a music grade, it's not considered worth much. It doesn't even get worked into the placement scores."

"And," Takumi said. "Nobody ever asks Mr. Yamada to approve an ST battle. Because of that, he doesn't feel important and gets really depressed."

"So he can't be bothered to teach us when we have such crappy instruments." Kanami finished.

"Oh." Sakura's disappointment could be felt like cold water drowning me. She slumped at her table.

_This is horrible!_ I thought. _Music is a creative outlet, something you can't take away from a growing student._ I got to my feet and grabbed Sakura's wrist, pulling her up before Takumi could snap a picture of her underwear. "Come on."

"What?" Sakura gasped as I started dragging her toward the front of the room. "What are we going to do?"

"You're going to get to sing." I told her. Then I sat down in front of the junk pile and started looking through it. There really were no real instruments. _I'll have to make something._ I decided.

I pulled out the broken ruler and tissue box. _Just like grade school._ I stuck the ruler into the box, creating a handle. Then I managed to find some rubber bands of varying thicknesses. I cut them and attached them to the other end of the ruler, stretched them down across the opening in the tissue box, and attached them to the other end of the box. A little bit of tension tweaking and it was done.

"Ready?" I asked Sakura, who was looking over my shoulder at the makeshift guitar. She nodded and I started to pluck the rubber bands.

The guitar actually worked pretty well. Sakura opened her mouth and started to sing.

"Chiisaki mono sore wa watashi

Watashi desu magirenaku

Kagami no naka kokorobososa dake ga

Dare ni makenai ashita ni naru yo"

As Sakura sang, the class stopped talking. They were all listening. Even Mr. Yamada looked up from his book. I glanced away from my playing long enough to see a look of surprise on his face.

"Soshite watashi wa osanai koro ni

Sukoshizutsu modotte yuku

Imi mo shirazu utau koi no uta wo

Homete kureta ano hi ni"

Some of the other students got up from the floor and silently made their way over to the pile of junk. One at a time, they each picked up different pieces from the pile and started fitting them together. They were being really quiet, so that they wouldn't disturb Sakura.

"Sora wo aogeba

Michite kuru watashi no koe ga

Sarasara nagaru kaze no naka de kimi mo

Fuwari maiagare"

I was pleased when I glanced briefly at my classmates and saw them smiling. Everyone was having fun making instruments. _Music class will be fun._

"Koe ga kikoeru

Yuku beki michi yubi sashite iru

Sarasara nagarru kaze no naka de hitori

Watashi utatte imasu"

When the song was over, I set my little guitar on the floor in front of me and grinned at my classmates. They all applauded and then started testing their own instruments.

"Yay!" Sakura tackled me with a hug. "That was so much fun! Thank you Ken-kun!"

"Aida Ken?"

I looked up when I heard my name. Mr. Yamada was looking at me with an amused smile. I got to my feet and walked over to him, leaving Sakura to strum my guitar. "Yes?"

"Do you take all of your lessons this seriously?" He asked.

"Sir." I said, tilting my head down slightly. "I hope you'll understand, but music isn't a class to me." I looked up and saw a hurt expression on his face, so I clarified. "Music is a form of expression, it is essential to life. It's _more_ than a class."

"Well," Mr. Yamada said, looking over to where Sakura and Kanami were laughing at Takumi's attempt to make a trumpet out of an old hose. "Class F certainly has the most interest in true music." He looked back at me. "You're a good class rep."

"Thank you, sir." I said, bowing to him. Then I turned and returned to show Yukio how to play the guitar. As I sat through the rest of the class, a plan started to form in my head.

* * *

**AN: The song that Sakura sings in this chapter is called _A Small Thing_. It is from the Japanese version of the sixth Pokemon movie; _Jirachi: Wish Maker_. I hope you liked the chapter, and thank you for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

"We're taking on class D!" I declared. It was free period and I was standing at the front of the room as usual.

"What?!" Almost every student in the class cried out.

"I know we won against class E…" One boy muttered. "But class D is a lot stronger."

"There's no way we can beat them!" Someone else stated.

"Yes we can!" I shouted. "We're class F. Maybe nobody expects anything from us, but that doesn't mean that we can't do anything! I know that we can surprise everyone and win!"

"But… But…"

"Will it be another math battle?" Yukio asked; the first positive response.

I shook my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sakura running out of the room to go deliver our challenge. A smile spread across my face. "It will be a music battle."

* * *

"Mr. Yamada! Mr. Yamada!" Sakura called out as the two of us ran toward the music teacher. When she caught up to him, she bent over, breathing heavily.

"What can I help you two with?" Mr. Yamada asked. I noticed that he was carrying a folder with Class A written on the front.

"We want you to approve an ST battle." I told him.

The mixture of surprise and delight that came to Mr. Yamada's face made me smile. I could guess how he felt, finally being asked to approve a battle. It meant that the students liked the subject he taught, and that must give him a feeling of accomplishment.

"Of course!" He said eagerly. "Where?"

"In the hallway outside class D." Sakura told him.

We all started in that direction. By the time we got there, both classes had assembled. I quickly picked out the class D rep at the front of her class. The look of hatred on her face wasn't even slightly hidden.

"You may have beat class E, but don't think that means you'll beat us." She said.

"We'll see about that." Yukio replied. I was glad to see that he wasn't the only class F student with a confident expression.

Mr. Yamada stepped between the two classes. "I approve this ST battle!" He stated, opening the field. "This will be a music battle!"

"What?!" The class D rep exclaimed as those around her called out their avatars. I almost laughed when I saw how low their scores were.

"We've so got this." Kanami laughed. She called out her avatar, a chibi version of herself dressed in a karate gi. Her score was higher than the class D rep's. "Go!"

Kanami's avatar charged forward, aiming an attack at the class D rep's avatar. Unfortunately, other class D avatars got in her way. They attacked her before she could take them out, wearing down her score. By the time she reached their rep's avatar, she was too weak and lost.

"Darn." Kanami spat as she was dragged off to a remedial class.

"Don't worry, Kana-chan!" Sakura called after her. "We'll win this!" She turned to face the battle and happily called out her avatar. The little blond in a sailor uniform was perfect for her and made me smile, even though I had seen it before.

"How is this possible?!" The class D rep cried. She was staring at Sakura's score.

"Music is awesome!" Sakura declared as her avatar charged at the class rep's. The fight ended there, with class D not even standing a chance.

"Yay! Yay! Yay!" Sakura happily jumped around, her avatar doing the same.

I turned to Mr. Yamada, who was crying he was so happy. "Thank you for overseeing the battle." I said, bowing to him.

"Yes." Mr. Yamada returned my bow. "I declare class F the winner." He closed the field with a very satisfied sigh.

"This was so not fair!" The class D rep complained. "Nobody pays any attention to music!"

I turned to face her head on. "Nobody but class F." I said smugly.

She huffed in response and led her class away.

"Hey! We'll take your instruments!" I called after them. A large grin spread across my face. _The other classes will probably start paying attention to music scores. _I told myself._ So we won't be able to win so easily in the future._ I looked over at the very happy Mr. Yamada. _But it was definitely worth it._ I looked at class F. _And we got better instruments out of it._

_But I think I'll stick with my makeshift guitar. I kind of like how it sounds._

* * *

**AN: I like home made instruments too, what about you? I feel like this chapter is on the short side, sorry. I'm trying to update quickly, so just be patient... that is, if anyone is actually reading this, I don't know. Please leave a review or some indication that this story is being seen. Thank you for reading! **


	6. Chapter 6

"Yes, it's wonderful here."

I came down to breakfast to find my mom talking on the phone. As always, her wavy blond hair was pulled out of her face with a maple leaf clip.

My mom was from Canada, and she had met my dad when he was living there for work. They had fallen in love, gotten married, and had Sakura and me, so the two of us were half Japanese, half Canadian. We had grown up in Canada, and then moved here when our dad got a promotion back in Japan at the start of the school year.

"Yes, they're both doing fine." My mom assured whoever she was talking to. "Ken is even at the top of his class."

I smiled at how proud she sounded. I loved my mom, and how she refused to assimilate to the image of a Japanese woman. She was Canadian, and proud of it.

"Yes, Sakura is just as lively as ever." My mom laughed. At that very moment, Sakura came bounding down the stairs, letting out a small 'hup' when she jumped off the last one.

"Good morning." I greeted her as she came into the dining room.

"Yo!" She giggled. She sat down and dug into her breakfast, just like she did every morning.

"I'll talk to you soon." Mom said, and then hung up the phone. She came over to the table and sat down with us.

"Who was that?" I asked her, buttering my toast.

"My sister." She replied. "Just checking to make sure we're all doing okay." She shook her head slightly. "She doesn't think I can adjust to a different culture." She said this while reaching for a jug of maple syrup, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"You're doing fine." My dad said, coming into the room in a suit. He was always ready to leave for work really early. "Just be yourself." He kissed my mom before heading out the door.

"Bye dad!" Sakura shouted after him. Then she shoved her toast in her mouth and jumped up from the table. "Come on!" She said with her mouth full, tugging at my arm.

"I'm coming." I assured her.

* * *

_Everyone's looking a little down?_ I thought, scanning the classroom as we sat in class. The English teacher was going on about grammar, but everyone was just looking at their desks. _It looks like they need a boost in confidence. Maybe it's time for another ST battle._

I glanced over at Sakura, who was drawing manga in her notebook. _I guess we should go after class C, but what subject?_ Our math scores weren't good enough, and I didn't want to use music again. _History?_ I thought, but then dismissed it. I was pretty sure I was the only one in the class who knew anything decent about history.

"Ken-chan." Takumi whispered, turning around to face me. "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

"Huh?" I glanced up at the teacher, who was writing sentences on the board. It looked like a lesson on 'There, Their, and They're'. "When to use each word." I whispered back to Takumi.

"What words?" Takumi asked with a raised eyebrow.

I was about to try explaining it when the classroom door suddenly flew open. Everyone looked to see a girl with shoulder length pink hair standing in the doorway. She marched right into the room and turned to face the class.

"Aida Ken!" She demanded.

"Yeah?" I asked, getting to my feet.

She pointed a finger at me. "I am Saito Momoko of class C." She stated. "And I have come to challenge class F on behalf of class C!" With that, she turned and walked out of the room.

All of the students looked around at each other, whispering. I slowly sat down again. "Okay." I breathed.

_Well, it saves us the trouble of declaring a challenge._

* * *

**AN: Sorry about another short chapter. I'm really trying to make them longer! I'll update soon, I promise, and as always, thank you for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Fujikawa Masato was the class rep for class 2-C. He was proud of his position. Sure, he had been hoping to be placed in class A, or even B, but at least in C he got to be a rep. Having people listen to him was worth being in a lower class. At least he wasn't one of the losers in class F.

_Speaking of class F._ He thought as the door opened and Momoko returned. He got to his feet and walked over to her. "So?"

Momoko nodded. "I delivered the challenge." She bowed to him, and then looked up at his face. "Um, Fujikawa-sama, why did you want to challenge class F?"

"Because," Masato explained. "They've somehow managed to beat classes E and D already. They'll be overconfident right now, and that could be dangerous for us. We have to crush them." He smashed a fist into his hand to make his point.

"Yes, sir." Momoko nodded. "What subject will we be using?"

"English of course!" It was his best subject, so nobody in class F had any chance of beating him. He laughed at how easy it would be.

* * *

"I approve this ST battle!" The English teacher declared, opening the field.

"Summon." Masato said calmly, calling forth his avatar. The chibi had his slightly spiked black hair and was dressed as a medieval knight.

"Summon!" The class F students chorused. Their avatars popped up all over the place.

_Pathetic._ Masato laughed to himself. With a wave of his hand, he sent his avatar into battle. With not even the slightest bit of help, he wiped out all but one of the class F avatars.

The final avatar, a blond girl's, surprised him. Her score was rather high, almost rivaling his own. He would have to be careful not to be hit, or he could be weakened. With that in mind, he charged forward.

"Where is your rep!?" Masato demanded of the girl who matched the avatar. He knew that the class F rep was a boy, so this girl couldn't be the rep. He was a little impressed that their rep had been smart enough not to send his avatar into battle right off the bat.

"I'm here!" A male voice came thought the crowd of class F students. The students parted and a boy on the short side stepped through. His appearance surprised Masato, since he wasn't the delinquent he had been expecting.

The rep, Aida Ken, surprised Masato even more when he spoke next. "I'm summoning my avatar!"

_English?!_ Masato almost yelled. Aida Ken had spoken in English when he summoned his avatar.

Then Masato almost laughed out loud. Aida Ken's avatar looked so average. He was dressed in skin tight black clothes with nothing special about them, and was wielding two daggers. His hair was fluffy and a sandy blond, just like Aida Ken's, and he was sporting feline ears and a tail.

The collective gasps from his classmates kept Masato from laughing. They were all looking at Aida Ken's score. When Masato looked, he thought there must be a glitch in the system. Aida Ken's score was more than five times what Masato's was.

"Let's finish this!" Aida Ken stated, still in English. His avatar charged forward, slashing at Masato's with a dagger.

* * *

"I declare class F the winner!" The teacher said as the field dissolved. I watched as my avatar went away with it.

_Why did it have to look like that?_ I wondered. It was the first time I had seen my avatar, and I didn't know how I felt about it. Yes, I liked the daggers and assassin like clothes, but why did it have to have cat ears? None of the other class F avatars had animal features.

"Yay Ken-kun!" Sakura cheered, tackling me with a hug. "You were amazing!" She told me. "And so cute!"

"Heh, sure." I said, making her stand properly so that she wouldn't drag me to the floor.

"How…?" A disbelieving voice came from class C. I looked to see the class C rep staring at me. "How was your score so high? Not even the top student in class A has a score that high."

"You know, he's right." Yukio said. Now everyone, even the teacher, was looking at me.

I felt myself blushing, uncomfortable under the stares. "Um, well, you see… The thing is…" I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to look at them as I answered. "English is my first language."

I peeked out of one eye when I was met by silence. Everyone was staring at me with open mouths. I didn't like it.

"Me too!" Sakura chirped, her hand shooting into the air. She grinned. "We're from Canada!"

"Really?" Kanami breathed. A wide smile spread across her face. "That's so cool!" She grabbed Sakura's arm and spun her around. "Do you think you could help me study for the next test?"

Sakura beamed as she nodded. "Sure!"

I was glad that people weren't completely freaking out. I looked over at the class C rep to see how he was reacting, but he had already turned and was walking away. I shrugged and joined Sakura in making tutoring schedules.

* * *

_That's not fair!_ Masato seethed as he stormed back to the 2-C classroom. He sat down at his desk and covered his head. _How can there be a foreigner in class F?!_

As he sat there, an image of Aida Ken's avatar floated through his mind. If he hadn't have known better, he would have sworn that the owner of the avatar was a girl, and a very cute one at that.

"Ah!" Masato let out a yell and slamed his head into his desk. _This isn't over!_ He vowed. _Class F, this isn't the last you've seen of class C!_

Then he made another vow, this one more personal. _Aida Ken, this isn't the last you've seen of Fujikawa Masato!_

* * *

**AN: Yay! Longer chapter! Told you I could do it. I actually really like this one. Also, hey, if you'll remember back to chapter 2, there was a character mentioned called 'the creepy custodian'. Remember him? Okay, so the thing is, I've been told that I should bring him back. I'm not sure about it, so let me know if you would like to see him again. Even after I have posted the entire story, I may write a short with him if enough people would like it. Again, thank you for reading!_  
_**


	8. Chapter 8

_Things could have gone better._ I thought to myself as I walked down the hall. Sure, we had beaten class C, but I had done that, not class F. How were they supposed to gain confidence when I had to win for them?

"Hey, cheer up!" Sakura told me, bumping me with her hip. "We won yesterday, and everyone's happy about it, except for you."

I looked up at her and forced a smile. "Yeah, okay."

"I must say, I'm surprised." Mr. Yamada said as he walked beside us. Sakura and I were helping him move boxes from a storage room to his office. "The class C rep is known for having class A level English scores. By all measures, class F shouldn't have been able to win."

Sakura grinned. "Class A levels are no match for native speaker levels!"

I smirked and knocked her shoulder. "Then why are your scores only class B level?" I teased.

"Hey!" She pouted. "I forget words, that's all. Isn't that right, SakuAvi?" She smiled down at her avatar, who was carrying three boxes high above her head.

"You named your avatar?" Mr. Yamada questioned. He was the first teacher to hear Sakura use the nickname. "Why?"

"Because!" Sakura insisted. "SakuAvi is just like a real person." She beamed. "Plus, it's cute!"

Mr. Yamada let out a laugh as we turned into his office. We set the boxes down beside his desk and let out a collective sigh. "That's the last of them." He told us. "Thanks for your help."

"No problemo!" Sakura said happily. Then she looked at Mr. Yamada with a completely serious expression. "Sensei, what are we doing in our next music class?" I knew that she had been dying to ask him.

"Next class?" He thought about the question for a moment. "Class F will be doing original compositions."

"Yay!" Sakura clapped her hands together. She loved to make things up.

"I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with." Mr. Yamada told her.

"You and me both!" Sakura grinned as she, SakuAvi, and I all left the office. Then, as we were walking, she looked down at her avatar. "What do you think, SakuAvi? Wild or refined?" I knew that there was no way she would end up doing something refined.

But SakuAvi didn't respond. I looked down at the avatar to see that it had disappeared. That was odd, because the summon field Mr. Yamada had cast hadn't gone away yet. Then, right where SakuAvi had been walking, a little girl appeared. She looked to be about seven years old, and was dressed in a little skirt and white shirt with a duck on it. The girl looked just like a younger version of Sakura.

"What just happened?!" Sakura cried out as the little girl turned around in circles, looking at herself all over.

"Attention students." The principal's voice echoed over the PA system. "We are conducting upgrades on the ST system. At the moment, the entire school is in a stage of battle field. If you choose to conduct practice battles during this time, that is up to you, but be aware that your avatars could be affected in unforeseen ways. That is all." She signed off.

Sakura and I looked at each other, and then down at the little girl. _So… That's Sakura's avatar?_ The thought brought a smile to my face. It was like having a seven year old little sister again.

* * *

"She's so cute!" Kanami cried out when she saw the new SakuAvi. She grabbed the avatar's little hands and spun her around in circles. SakuAvi giggled in response.

"So, is that what you looked like as a kid?" Yukio asked Sakura.

"Yup!" Sakura told him. It was true, the only changes Sakura had gone though as she grew up was getting taller.

"So our avatars are like younger siblings for today?" Kanami theorized.

"Aw." Takumi sounded disappointed. "If they were going to change, why couldn't they be older versions of the students?"

"Because then you'd die of a horrific nosebleed." Sakura told him, laughing. Everyone stared at her, a little surprised. I shrugged it off, chalking her comment up to watching too much anime.

"I want to try!" Kanami exclaimed. She took a deep breath and stretched her arms out in front of her. "Summon!"

The avatar that popped up was no younger Kanami. In fact, the avatar had to be adult aged. She giggled seductively as she twirled her hair and pulled up the top of her sleeveless shirt, which barely held her breasts.

"There is a god!" Takumi cried, starting to snap photos of the older Kanami.

"Aw." Now it was Sakura's turn to be disappointed. "No nosebleed."

"Ta-ku-mi!" Kanami fumed, clenching her fist. Takumi looked up at her as she pulled her arm back and punched him hard in the face. Blood spurted from his nose as he fell to the ground.

"Yay!" Sakura cheered.

"Ow." Takumi rubbed his nose and looked up at Kanami. Fear flashed on his face when she glared down at him. "Sorry! I'm sorry!" He waved his arms in front of him.

"I wonder what mine looks like." Yukio said. Everyone looked at him as he reached out an arm. "Summon!"

When Yukio's avatar appeared, I was a little confused. It didn't look any different from normal. Then I felt something touch my leg and I looked down to see another Yukio avatar. Looking around the room, I saw that there were hundreds of Yukio avatars everywhere.

Sakura giggled. "You multiplied!" She told Yukio, clapping. SakuAvi did the same.

"My turn!" Takumi said, on his feet again. "Summon!"

His new avatar could only be described as a delinquent. He was about high school aged, dressed in a black uniform open at the front. The white button down shirt was open at the top, revealing a muscular chest. He was smirking smugly.

"Wow." Sakura and Kanami breathed together.

"Awesome!" Takumi exclaimed. "I hope that's what I look like in high school!"

Sakura grabbed my arm. "Ken-kun! Ken-kun! You try!"

"Yeah, it's your turn!" Kanami told me.

Takumi grinned at me. "I have to say, Ken-chan, if it's a girl, I wouldn't be surprised."

"It's not going to be a girl!" I shouted at him. "Summon!" I commanded, using English again.

* * *

**AN: So, yeah, another update today. I know nothing really happened here, but I just had to do something with altered avatars. We'll see what Ken-kun's avatar looks like in the next chapter, so please keep reading. Thanks!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

Masato walked down the hall. With the system upgrades going on, classes had been suspended. Most of class C had gone to the library to study, and Masato was planning on joining them. First, though, he wanted to do some spying.

_Maybe I can gain an advantage over class F if I know how they react to the unexpected._

As he neared the class F classroom, he heard laughter and cheerful voices. He grit his teeth, a little ticked that they were having fun. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of Aida Ken summoning his avatar. He snuck over to the door and peeked in.

The class had fallen silent, and among the avatar doppelgangers, Masato saw a small child and a busty woman. Then his jaw dropped when he followed their gazes to the middle of the room.

A high school aged version of Aida Ken's avatar (no more masculine than the real Aida Ken) was standing there, with another high school avatar behind him, this one taller and more masculine. The taller avatar was gripping Aida Ken's avatar's wrist, holding the boy's arm up at the same height as his head, while his other arm was snaked around the boy's waist, reaching under his black shirt. Aida Ken's avatar's head was turned, looking back at the taller boy. There was a slight blush on his face.

Masato blinked rapidly at the scene, but he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. He looked at the real Aida Ken and recognized a look of horror on his face. The same look was plastered on the face of the boy who matched the taller avatar.

Without realizing it, Masato let his gaze drift back to the two avatars. _Would Aida Ken look like that too?_ He found himself wondering. Then he quickly shook his head. _It doesn't' matter!_ He scolded himself.

Even if he hadn't been able to sleep the night before due to dreams of Aida Ken, it didn't mean anything. Aida Ken was nothing more than another class representative who had bested Masato. He was a rival!

_I will beat him!_ Masato swore to himself. _He will be at my mercy!_ He smirked as he looked at Aida Ken's helpless avatar.

_No!_ Masato shook his head. _Not like that!_

"Ah!" He let out a frustrated cry and hurried away down the hall. _Stupid class F!_

* * *

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" I cried out, waving my hands around. No matter what I did, my avatar didn't listen. It was like he was in his own world.

I heard the sound of a camera shutter. When I looked, I saw SakuAvi standing in front of me, holding Takumi's camera. She was snapping photos of the whole scene.

"Good job, SakuAvi!" Sakura praised the little girl, giving her a thumbs up. The avatar returned the gesture.

"Sakura!" I cried.

"What?" Sakura looked at me innocently. "It's not like she's a real seven year old. It's like it's me taking the pictures."

"That wouldn't be any better!" I looked to Kanami for help, but she was staring, mesmerized by the scene. Yukio had turned away and was busying himself by dealing with his many avatars, pretending nothing was happening behind him. Finally I looked to Takumi, who was just as horrified as I was.

"That's not me!" He shouted, pointing at his avatar. "I'm not like that!" He turned to stare at Kanami's avatar. "I like girls!"

"You know…" Sakura muttered, looking hard at him. "I've been thinking this for a while now. You sure do make everyone aware of your skirt chasing. Wouldn't most boys try to be discreet?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe you're trying to convince everyone? Maybe even yourself?"

"What?!" Takumi turned to stare at her. "No!"

Both Sakura and her avatar burst out laughing. They were both having too much fun during all of this.

"Hey, look at that." Kanami said. Everyone looked to see that she was pointing at something above the avatars' heads. "They have scores."

"Those are their music scores." Yukio said.

"Of course!" Sakura clapped. "Mr. Yamada had a field open when all of this began. The whole school must be in that field now."

"Hey, Ken?" Kanami tapped me on the shoulder. "You're music score is higher than Takumi's."

"Huh?" I looked at the scores. "Hey, your right."

"You know what that means, right?" Sakura said slyly. I looked at her and instantly wanted to run. "Your avatar could beat Takumi's to a pulp, yet he isn't. That means he likes the position he's in right now."

"No!" I shouted, covering my face. I turned and ran out of the room.

* * *

Sakura was still laughing as we got home. The upgrades had been finished and the field went away, but the day had been cut short. Now it was just the two of us in the house, since both of our parents worked.

"That was such a great day!" Sakura sighed, flopping down on the couch without even getting changed. She didn't care that her skirt rose up and showed her underwear. "I think it will be the highlight of the year!"

"Yeah, great." I grumbled. I set my school bag on the floor and went into the kitchen. There were some of our mom's homemade cookies in the cookie jar. I grabbed one and stuck it in my mouth as I went to the fridge for some milk.

"You have such an Uke avatar!" I heard Sakura call from the couch. "It's so cute! I love it!"

"Yeah, yeah." I said around the cookie. I put the milk jug back in the fridge and walked back out to where Sakura was. "What are you doing?"

She had sat up and had her sketchbook in front of her. She looked up and grinned. "Lookie!" She said, showing me the sketchbook. When I looked, I saw a preliminary sketch of the scene from today. "I'm going to draw a manga with the avatars as the main characters!"

I groaned and walked away, heading upstairs to my room.

* * *

**AN: So that's the second part of the odd avatars filler. Please review, and thank you for reading!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

"We can beat them!" Sakura Jun announced to his class. "They're only class F! The only reason they beat class C is because their rep it a foreigner!" He punched the top of the desk. "But we can use that to our advantage! We'll fight using Japanese Literature! They don't stand a chance!"

"Yeah!" The rest of class B cheered.

Feeling pleased with himself, Jun walked back to his own seat in the middle of the room. He sat down and turned to the girl who sat beside him. "So, hurry up and deliver the challenge."

Kurakawa Ichigo turned and gave Jun an emotionless stare. "Are you sure about this?" She prompted in a monotone voice.

"Of course I am!" Jun told her. He beamed. "We're class B, and we won't let them forget it! Class F will learn their place."

Ichigo nodded and closed the book that was open on her desk. "Then I supposed I have no choice but to go." She smoothly got to her feet.

At that moment the class B door flew open. A girl with flowing blond hair stood in the doorway, grinning. "Class B!" She shouted. "On behalf of Class F, I challenge you to an ST battle!"

Ichigo calmly sat down again. "Would you look at that." She said, opening her book again.

Jun got to his feet and walked toward the door. "I'm Sakura Jun, class B rep. Who are you?"

The girl giggled and smiled up at him. "Aida Sakura." She laughed. "Class F ambassador."

Jun blinked at the girl. _She's got a cute laugh._ He thought. He smirked. "Alright, Aida-chan, we accept your challenge."

She laughed again. "Good." Then she turned and happily skipped down the hall back to her classroom.

Jun closed the door after her, a smile coming to his face. _She sure is lively. Leave it to a class F student to be so happy._ He turned and returned to his seat again.

Ichigo looked up from her book long enough to see the smile on his face. "Do you know who that was?" She asked, returning to her book.

"Huh?" Jun looked at her. "Yeah, she introduced herself. Aida Sakura."

"Correct." Ichigo said. "Sister to Aida Ken."

"Aida Ken?" Jun repeated. He didn't' know the name.

"The class F representative." Ichigo informed him.

* * *

"Delivered!" Sakura sang as she skipped back into the classroom. She sat down at the back of the room, humming a happy tune. Somehow, she was even happier than when she had left.

"Good." I said from my spot at the front of the room. I addressed the entire class. "It's been set. This will be our hardest fight yet. We can't just charge in, we need strategy."

A hand went up midway back. "What will the battle be in?" The student asked.

Before I could respond, Sakura chirped. "Literature!" She declared.

I stared at her. _Why would she pick literature?_ "Um, Sakura? You can't read kanji." Out of all of Sakura's low grades, her Japanese Literature was the lowest.

"I know." Sakura said. "But I like to read, and I've been trying to learn. If we fight in literature, I can take a recovery test." She sounded very confident in herself.

"Um…" I looked around the room at the other students.

"Sounds good to me." Yukio said. He had the best Japanese Lit mark in the whole class, even better than mine. Nobody outside of class F knew this, but Yukio's Japanese Lit score was probably the best in the whole school. His other scores were just so bad that they canceled it out.

"Okay." I nodded. "I'll try to get a literature teacher to approve."

"Yes!" Sakura cheered.

"But we have to be careful." I warned the class. "Don't lose focus. If your score is dropping, or you don't think it's high enough to survive, there is no shame in taking a recovery test."

"Alright." The class chorused.

I nodded and left the front of the room. When I returned to my seat. I noticed that Sakura was doodling on a scrap of paper. "What's up?" I asked her.

She looked up, covering the paper. "Nothing much." She said with a grin. "Just trying to get my grades up."

_Something's definitely going on._ Sakura had never worried about her grades, not even when she almost flunked a grade. I was worried that there was something she wasn't telling me.

"She's in love." Kanami said simply. I looked up and saw her looking back at Sakura and me. "Love makes everyone change."

"Kanami-!" Sakura complained.

I blinked twice and looked back at Sakura. _Love?_ Sure, it made sense, considering Sakura's age, but it just didn't fit. She was still like a child. _Has she matured without me realizing it?_

I managed to sneak a look at her doodles. _It can't be._ She had just written her name all over the page in pairs. She had used Kanji, so I guessed that she was just practicing, like she said.

I smiled. _There's no way Sakura would change, even if she did fall in love._ I pulled out my literature book and started to study. I was going to need it.

* * *

**AN: So, yeah, the battles are getting underway again. Again, thank you for reading!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

"I approve this ST battle!" The literature teacher said, opening the field.

I faced the class B rep, a boy with carefully cut red hair. I was a little suspicious of how pleased he seemed to be about the subject choice. _Be careful._ I told myself. I looked around at my classmates, pleased with the determined looks I saw on their faces.

"I'm summoning my avatar!" I declared.

* * *

Jun almost laughed out loud. _He can't even summon his avatar in Japanese!_ This battle was going to be a piece of cake. Class F would be even more crushed since they had been the ones to declare the challenge. _This is just too easy._

As his avatar went into battle, Jun scanned the class F students. He frowned when he didn't see Sakura anywhere. If the class rep were her brother, then why would she miss the battle, even if she wasn't good at literature?

_Whatever!_ Jun shook the thought from his mind. This was a grand occasion, and he wouldn't let his thoughts get in the way of his enjoyment.

He blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?" He squinted to make sure he was seeing right.

Yup, he was. The class F rep's literature score, while not best in the school, was much higher than Jun had expected.

"How is it that high?!" Jun demanded. "I thought you grew up in America!"

Ken's expression was completely serious. "It was Canada." He corrected. "And even while there, my father taught me Japanese."

Jun clenched his jaw. _So that's why he chose literature. He knew we would underestimate him._ It didn't matter though. Jun knew that he could still win.

"Together!" He shouted.

His avatar led the other class B avatars into battle. If they all ganged up on Ken's, then there was no way he could survive.

"Look out!" One of the other class F students shouted as an avatar got in the way of the class B avatars. The class F avatar took out five class B avatars before stepping back to guard Ken's avatar.

Jun grit his teeth. That was another strong score. What was going on?

"I'm here! I'm here!"

Jun looked into the crowd and felt his chest flutter when he saw blond hair waving in motion. Then Sakura pushed her way to the front of the class F crowd. She was smiling, but it was a determined smile.

"Summon!" She shouted.

Jun couldn't help but notice how cute Sakura's avatar was. Then he noticed something else. Her score, while not nearly as high as her brother's, was in the top range of her class.

"Why are all of your scores so high?!" Jun shouted. It just didn't make any sense!

"We studied with determination." Sakura laughed. "Now let's win this thing!" Together, she and her brother charged at the class B avatars.

"Hooray!" Sakura cheered. She grabbed my hands and started dancing around. "We did it!"

"Yeah." I nodded. I looked at her avatar, who was dancing around in a similar way. "And you really did manage to get your score up."

"Told you I would!"

"Ahem!" Someone cleared their throat nearby. I turned to see the class B rep standing there. "Yes, you won." He admitted. "So what will you be taking from us?"

"Oh, um…" I tried to think of something. Our equipment was part of our push to prove that we are better, so I didn't want to take their stuff.

Before I could answer, Sakura stepped forward. She was looking at her feet, but then looked up and met the class B rep's eyes. "A date." She said firmly. Then a blush spread across her face and she brought her hands up to her cheeks. "I said it!"

I looked at her in surprise. _So, she really was in love?_ I wondered. I looked at the class B rep and saw surprise on his face as well.

Then a smile spread across his face. "Is that all?" He asked. He swung an arm around Sakura's shoulders. "If that's all you wanted, then you didn't have to beat us in an ST battle."

Sakura looked up at his face. "Really?"

"Of course." The class B rep started to lead her away down the hall. "Just tell me where you want to go."

I stared after them. "Um, what just happened?" I asked.

Takumi, who was standing beside me, clenched his fists. "That class B scum just nabbed the hottest middle school girl I have ever seen!"

"What was that?!" Kanami yelled. She put Takumi in a headlock.

I ignored the two of them. _Sakura's going on a date?_ For some reason I couldn't help but feel like I was being left behind. It's not like I wanted to go with them, but… _Am I being replaced?_

* * *

**AN: Sakura's growing up! As always, thank you for reading!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Yeah, it's really good." I could hear Sakura laugh from her room. "You should watch it."

"I don't know when I'd find the time." Jun told her.

"You study too much!"

I stared down at my textbooks. Sakura's victory date with the class B representative had turned into a relationship. Now, a month later, he was over at our house almost every day. Sakura and I never did anything with each other anymore.

"Oh, whatever!" I told myself, closing my textbook. I got up from my desk and went over to collapse on my bed. "We're still twins. It's not like a boyfriend will replace me."

My phone started to ring and I grabbed it from the shelf. "Hello?" I said quickly.

"Hey." It was Takumi. "You busy?"

"No." I said as Sakura's laugh filled the house again.

"What was that?" Takumi asked.

"Sakura's boyfriend is over." I told him.

"Oh." He breathed. In the past month, he had made it clear how upset he was that my sister was dating someone from class B. I had a feeling it wasn't who she was dating that was bothering him though.

"So why'd you call?" I asked.

"We've got that English test coming up." He reminded me. "I was wondering if you'd help me study."

"Yeah, sure." I agreed. "My parents are out right now, and I can't leave Sakura and Jun alone together, so can you come over here?"

"Yeah. I'll be right over." He said, and then hung up.

* * *

"Is this right?" Takumi asked.

I wasn't paying attention to him. I was more focused on the door to the kitchen. A few minutes ago, Sakura had lead Jun in there. I could hear them messing around, apparently trying to make cookies.

"Ken-chan!" Takumi shouted.

"Huh? What?" I looked at him.

"Is this sentence correct?" He asked, showing me his paper.

"Um…" I looked over what he had written. "Your name is a proper noun." I said, pointing to it. "It should be capitalized."

"Oh, thanks." He quickly changed it. Then he sat up and followed my gaze to the kitchen door. "So it does bother you."

"What?" I looked at him. "What bothers me?"

"The fact that your twin sister has a boyfriend." He clapped a hand on my shoulder. "I know just what you need, man."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "What do I need?"

He grinned. "A girlfriend of course!" Then his grin turned into a smirk. "Or I could help you."

"What?!"

Before I could do anything, Takumi had tackled and pinned me. "Get off!" I told him, trying to push him away. He was bigger than me, and I wasn't strong enough.

"Man, Ken-chan, relax." He laughed. "You're acting like a girl."

"I'm not a girl!"

"Yeah, Ken-kun is an uke." I turned my head and looked past Takumi to see Sakura standing in the kitchen doorway. Jun was behind her, looking down at me and Takumi.

"What are you guys studying?" Jun asked.

Takumi got up and let me sit up. He looked at Jun seriously. "A class F secret strategy." He said.

Jun raised his hands. "Hey, man, don't worry. You guys already beat us. We can't challenge you for another two months."

"Yeah, whatever." Takumi bent down and picked up his English book. "I'd better get going." He said. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Ken-chan, Sakura-chan." With that, he walked out of the room headed for the front door.

"Ah! Wait!" I jumped to my feet and chased after him. "Takumi!"

"Yeah?" Takumi turned back to face me.

I stopped. _What was I going to say?_ I knew that he had just been joking around, and it's not like if he left now things would be awkward between us. _So why do I feel like I need to say something?_

"Um… You should go over your proper nouns." I told him lamely.

He smiled. "Thanks. I will." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "And you should get a girlfriend." He said before leaving.

I stood in the open door and watched him walk away. "A girlfriend?" I repeated. I shook my head. I had never really been attracted to a girl before. It's not like I could get a girlfriend just because I wanted one.

* * *

**AN: Sorry, it's kind of short again. It's also kind of uneventful, but... yeah. Thanks for reading!  
**


	13. Chapter 13

"Can you believe it?"

I heard the excited voices as soon as I stepped into the classroom. Everyone was talking, and they sounded really enthusiastic about something. I blinked as I walked toward my seat in the back.

"What's going on?" I asked Takumi.

"There's a rumor going around that class A is worried about us." He said, turning around. He blinked at the empty seat beside me. "Where's Sakura?"

"With Jun." I told him.

_So class A is worried?_ I smiled at the thought. They were the only class we hadn't beaten yet. _Maybe we could even beat them._ I had a feeling that I might be able to stand my own against them, but I wanted it to be a class F accomplishment. I knew that, if one of my classmates took out the class A rep's avatar, then the moral in class would be at an all time high.

"Should we challenge them?" Yukio asked me.

"Are you crazy?!" Kanami cried. "They're class A! We wouldn't stand a chance!"

"But we beat class B." Yukio pointed out.

"I'd like to see what we could do." Takumi told them.

"But what if we loose?" Kanami asked. "They'll take stuff away from us for sure." She pointed at me. "They're not as nice as Ken."

"But we can't not fight them just because we're afraid we might lose!" Takumi told her. "The French citizens knew they might all die, but they still challenged Louis XVI!"

We stared at Takumi. "Did you just reference world history?" I asked him.

"Huh?" Takumi thought for a moment. Then his eyes grew wide. "I did!" He beamed. "Looks like I'm smart in a area other than female anatomy after all."

_That's it!_ I realized what we could do. "We're going to challenge class A." I told them. Then I got to my feet and went to the classroom door. When I looked out, I saw Sakura coming down the hall.

"Hey, Ken-kun!" She said when she saw me. "What's up?"

"You have to go to class A." I told her.

"Why?" A look of fear crossed her face. "There's no way we can beat them."

"Yes, we can." I assured her. "Here's what we're going to do." I quickly explained my plan to her.

* * *

Sawatari Ayako sat calmly at her desk in the back corner of class 2-A. She was the top student in the entire second year, and everyone thought they knew why. As she sat there, a history book open in front of her, she could hear her classmates commenting on her dedication to her grades.

_What would they say if they knew?_ Ayako wondered. Nobody knew that, hidden within her history textbook's cover, was a Yaoi novel.

"Sexual exploits of the emperor?"

Ayako slammed her book closed as Himamori Daichi sat down beside her. "What?" Daichi was her best friend, and even she didn't know about Ayako's secret passion.

"You were blushing." Daichi told her, nodding at the book. "What is there in history that could make you blush other than the sexual exploits of an emperor?"

"Oh." Ayako breathed. "Uh, yeah. It's a real shocker." She carefully lay a hand over the book.

"Yeah, so, anyway." Daichi said, leaning back in her chair. "I was thinking of getting a tattoo, what do you think?" She held out her arm, where she had drawn an A with wings in pen.

"You're crazy." Ayako told her. It seemed like Daichi had a new rebellious plan every day. Ayako knew that she wasn't really going to get a tattoo.

"I've already made the appointment." Daichi said.

"What?!" Ayako looked at her with wide eyes. Then she saw that Daichi was studying her. "You're lying."

"Yeah, I am." Daichi smiled slightly. "But really, I want to get a tattoo."

"Uh, huh." Ayako murmured. She picked up her book and opened it again, angling herself so that Daichi wouldn't be able to read over her shoulder.

"Hey, Aya?"

"What?"

"There's something really important I have to tell you."

Ayako sighed. "What is it?" Daichi labeled every little thing as really important. It was probably just that she didn't know what to eat for lunch.

"I think I might be pregnant."

"Yeah, of course, preg-" Ayako dropped her book. "What?!" She grabbed Daichi's shoulders. "Really?!"

Daichi started to laugh. "No. I don't even have a boyfriend, remember?" She bent over, trying to get her laughter under control. "Man, you are just too easy to mess with." She managed to control herself, just giggling every so often. "Okay, what I wanted to tell you is that my family is going overseas for vacation, so I can't hang out with you."

"That's fine." Ayako breathed. She went back to reading her book. _I'll probably just spend my vacation watching yaoi anime._

All of a sudden there was a commotion towards the front of the room. Ayako looked up and saw that the classroom door was open. A blond girl walked right in and stood at the front of the room.

"Who's your class rep?" She asked.

Ayako got to her feet. "I am."

The blond girl smiled and walked right up to Ayako. "Hi." She chirped, extending a hand. "I'm Aida Sakura."

"Um, hi?" Ayako set her book down and shook the girl's hand. "Sawatari Ayako. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes." The blond girl replied. "I'm here to-" She stopped when her eyes landed on Ayako's book. "Oh!" She gasped happily.

Ayako looked down and her stomach froze. With all the moving she had put the book through, the false history cover had shifted. The very bottom of the real cover could be seen, and that's where it was advertised that the book was a yaoi novel.

"Which one is it?" The girl asked, snatching up the book before Ayako could fix it. She flipped off the false cover and looked at the title. A grin spread across her face. "Oh, this is a good one!"

"Give it back!" Ayako shouted, snatching the book back. She hurried to cover it again.

"Aya?" Daichi said. "What's wrong."

"Nothing." Ayako told her. She turned on the blond girl. "What do you want?"

"Oh yeah!" The girl gasped, as if she had forgotten the whole reason she was there. "I'm the ambassador for class F!"

_No surprises there._ Ayako thought maliciously.

"I've come to challenge you to a five on five ST battle in the subjects of…" She listed them off on her fingers. "History, Literature, Music, Home Economics, and English." She grinned when she had finished.

"An ST battle?" Ayako repeated.

"Sounds like fun!" Daichi grinned. "Your class rep must have a lot of guts to challenge us."

"Yup!" The girl chirped. "Ken-kun is very determined." She paused, holding a finger to her chin. "That's the same as having guts, right?"

Ayako smirked. "Okay. We accept your challenge. Where and when?"

"Um…" The blond girl tried to remember. "It was…" She looked at her watch, and took a few moments to read what it said. "Oh!" She grinned. "Ken-kun said immediately, and in the auditorium, in front of the whole second year!"

Ayako blinked, and then burst out laughing. "Alright then." She said, getting to her feet. She addressed the class. "Daichi, Tomoki, Rei, and Maki. Let's go!"

* * *

**AN: Yay! Long chapter! I'm going to try to finish the story today, so the final few chapters will come quickly. Thanks for reading!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

I stood on the stage in the auditorium as the seats filled up. Yukio, Kanami, and Takumi were there with me. We were waiting for Sakura to arrive with the class A students.

"Look." Kanami whispered, pointing at the door.

Class C was being lead in by their rep. I looked at him and our eyes met. From the way that he looked away so quickly, I guessed that he was still sore about being beaten by us.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Takumi whispered to me.

I nodded. "I'm sure." Class F may have had the lowest average scores, but I had planned everything to play to my friends' individual strengths.

"Here they come!" Yukio said, pointing at the door.

Sure enough, Sakura came running in, followed by the second year class A. Five of the class A students made their way to the stage while the rest of them found seats.

"Are you the rep?" A girl with long jade hair and a flower headband asked me as she got onto the stage.

I nodded. "That's right. I'm Aida Ken, class F's rep."

The girl snorted slightly. "You don't look like much, but then, you are class F."

I scowled at her. _Don't let her get to you._ Her words were most likely a ploy to throw us off our game. "And you are?" I asked calmly.

"Sawatari Ayako." She said. She looked past me at our class F team. "Well, let's get this over with."

"I approve this ST battle!" The remedial class teacher said, raising his arms and opening the field. "First up will be History!" He looked to each side as students stepped forward. "Ito Maki of class A and Shima Takumi of class F. Begin."

"Summon!" Both Takumi and Maki said at the same time. When their avatars came out, I was pleased to see that there wasn't that much of a difference in level. _Did class A put any thought into their lineup?_ I hoped that they hadn't, and had underestimated us. That was one of our strengths, the fact that nobody thought we could do it.

"What kind of score is that?" Maki laughed. "I can get a better grade in my sleep." She winked. "When I'm not wearing any clothes."

"What?" Takumi blinked.

"Taku-kun!" Sakura cried. "Focus!"

Takumi looked back at her. "I'm trying." He looked back at Maki. "But I can't help it. What would she look like without any clothes on?"

"No!" Sakura yelled at him.

Takumi wasn't focusing at all, and Maki's avatar quickly ate away at his score.

"She's really a forty year old man!" Sakura screamed at Takumi.

"Hey!" Maki glared at Sakura. "I am not!"

"Wha!" From Takumi's cry, I guessed that he was now seeing Sakura's image instead of Maki. He shook his head as Sakura started to laugh. "I did not need that image."

Despite being free from his fantasy, Takumi couldn't catch up. In one more hit, Maki's avatar brought Takumi's score down to zero. "Yes!" She cheered, returning to her team. She looked back only long enough to glare at Sakura.

"Man." Takumi groaned as he walked back to our side. He looked at me. "Sorry, Ken-chan."

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Its alright. We can still win."

"Next is Literature!" The teacher declared. "Nakamura Tomoki of class A and Hamada Yukio."

"Summon!"

I smiled when I saw the look of surprise on Tomoki's face. The look was mirrored on the rest of the class A team as well. _You can do it, Yukio._

"I've got this." Yukio said, pleased. "Ha!" His avatar charged forward to attack.

"Oh, no you don't!" Tomoki said as his avatar stepped out of the way. He started to laugh. "It's going to take more than that to beat me."

"Tomoki!" Ayako shouted at him as Yukio's avatar spun and slashed at the overconfident class A avatar. The match was over.

"Yay Yuki-kun!" Sakura cheered, giving him a high five.

"Music!" The teacher kept up with the pace of the battle. "Watanabe Rei and Satake Kanami!"

"Summon!"

This time it was class F's turn to be surprised. I cursed myself for being overconfident. I had counted on class A not taking music seriously, the way class D had. I had never thougt that Rei would have a high music score.

"What?" Kanami breathed. She looked at Rei. "How is your score so high?"

The other girl flipped one of her long black braids over her shoulder. "I've taken piano lessons since I was four." She said simply. Then she narrowed her eyes at Kanami. "However, I could ask you the same question."

Kanami smiled. "Sakura taught me how to play the snare drum on an upturned bucket." She giggled. "Mr. Yamada gave me extra points for flipping the bucket into a window blind for a finale."

Rei scowled. "That's so childish." Her avatar charged forward. "And it's not going to help you now!"

"Wha!" Kanami let out a cry as her avatar disintegrated. "No!"

"Well done, Rei." The rest of the class A team congratulated the girl as she returned to them.

"Sorry." Kanami said, returning. She turned to Sakura and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have to win, okay?"

Sakura's hands formed fists and she held them in front of her. "Okay!" She said, nodding with a determined look on her face.

"Home Economics." The teacher sounded a little uncomfortable as he stated the next subject. "Himamori Daichi of class A and Aida Sakura of class F."

"Summon!" The tough looking girl from class A said, calling forth an avatar that looked like a gang leader, but had a very high score above her head.

Sakura first tied an apron around her waist, spun happily, and then smiled at Daichi. "Summon!"

Daichi laughed. "What's with the apron? You do know that we're not actually in Home Ec, right?"

"I know." Sakura giggled. "But I always wear an apron when I am, so it helps me get in the mood."

"Alright." Daichi shrugged. Then her avatar, wielding a lead pipe, charged at Sakura's avatar.

"SakuAvi!" Sakura commanded. In response, her avatar jumped and flipped over Daichi's avatar's head. Then she twirled and delivered a kick to the back. Daichi's avatar stumbled forward, losing a lot of points.

"Owchie." Sakura complained, reaching down to grab her ankle.

"Are you okay?" I called to her.

She looked over her shoulder at me. "I'm fine." She promised. "I've just never kicked anyone before."

"You're kidding, right?" Daichi asked. She turned back to her classmates. "They've got me fighting a probationary student."

All of class A burst out laughing. I grit my teeth, hoping that Sakura wouldn't let it get to her.

"Oh, yeah?" Sakura sounded calm. Then her avatar delivered another attack, defeating Daich's avatar. "Well, this probationary student just beat you, Himamori Daichi of class A."

"Ah!" Daichi let out an angry yell. For a moment I thought she was going to charge at Sakura.

Then the class A rep stepped up to her. "I've got this." She said calmly.

"Aya." Daichi whispered. She nodded. "Okay." Then she turned and walked over to the rest of the team.

* * *

**AN: *giggle* Takumi's weakness. Alrighty, so another important chapter, and next time, the show down between the class reps! It's going to be a good one, but I like this one too. Thanks for reading!  
**


	15. Chapter 15

"Final match!" The teacher stated. "English! Sawatari Ayako, class A representative, and Aida Ken, class F representative."

"Summoning avatar!" Ayako said, and her avatar, a strangely geeky looking character with a heavy book in hand, appeared.

"I'm summoning my avatar!" I called out, reaching out a hand as my avatar materialized.

Ayako smirked. "You're not going to intimidate me by summoning your avatar in English." She said, also using English.

"I wasn't even trying to." I told her. "However, the fact that my score is more than twice as much as yours might do the trick."

"What?!" Ayako cried. She looked at my score and stomped her foot. "That's not possible! Even if all of your other scores were zeros, an English score like that would have gotten you into class D."

I laughed and rubbed the back of my head. "You see, my score was nowhere near that on the placement test."

"How is that possible?!" Ayako demanded.

"Now that you mention it…" I heard Takumi mutter. "Ken-chan's grades are really good. Why is he in class F?"

I gulped as I turned to look at them. They were all staring at me. Even Sakura was looking at me with a suspicious look. _What should I do?_ I wondered. I was sure that they'd all hate me, Sakura especially, if they knew why I had wanted to be in class F. _They'd never forgive me._

"Ah!" All of a sudden Sakura let out a cry. "KenAvi! Look out!"

I spun around to see Ayako's avatar attacking my avatar with her book. The attack brought my score down by a chunk, but I still had more than she did. My avatar retaliated by stabbing with a dagger.

Ayako's avatar let out a little gasp before disappearing. And just like that, it was over.

"I declare class F the winner!" The teacher shouted over the roar of the crowd.

"Yay Ken-kun!" Sakura cried, running forward and giving me a large hug.

I smiled and turned to return her hug. Then the two of us walked over to the rest of our team. My smile dropped when I saw that they were still looking at me with suspicion.

"Ken?" Yukio asked. "Why are you in class F?"

"Yeah." Kanami looked past me to where Ayako was leading her team away. "Why aren't you the class rep of class A?"

"Um…" I bit my lip. "You see… The thing is…" I forced myself to laugh. "When I took the placement test, I was so nervous that I completely choked." I tried to keep laughing as long as I could. _Please believe me._ I begged silently.

"Ken-kun." Sakura said quietly beside me. I looked and she shook her head. "You don't choke." She looked at me with wide eyes. "Why did you get placed in class F?"

I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. "You see…" I looked down at my feet. "Sakura, I was really worried about you. We had never been in different classes, and I knew you were going to end up in class F, so I… I deliberately bombed the placement test."

* * *

**AN: And the truth comes out! There will be one more chapter to wrap everything up. Thanks for reading!  
**


	16. Chapter 16

I stopped myself as I reached out for the classroom door. _How can I face them?_ I asked myself.

Yesterday, after the battle with class A and telling my friends the truth, I had gone home early. I had locked myself in my room and hid from Sakura, even when she had begged me to talk to her. I just couldn't face her.

And again this morning. I had waited until she had left for school before coming out of my room. My dad had already left for work, but my mom had asked me if everything was all right. I had lied and told her that it was.

Now I stood in front of 2-F, but I didn't have the courage to go inside.

"Aida Ken."

I looked up and saw Fujikawa Masato, the class C rep, walking toward me. I quickly lowered my hand from the door and turned to face him. "Hello, Fujikawa-kun." I greeted him.

"I saw your ST battle yesterday." He said, but he wasn't looking at me. "Your English score really is superb."

"Thanks." I muttered.

"Hey, so, um, listen…" He stammered. For the first time I noticed how stiffly he was standing. "There's something I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Um…" He placed a hand on the back of his neck. "You see, ever since our ST battle… I've kind of been having these reoccurring dreams."

"Oh." I said, smiling. I loved the subject of dreams. "They say that reoccurring dreams are trying to tell you something important that you have to do."

"They've been about you."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "Are they telling you to challenge class F when the three months are up?"

"Um, not class F you, Aida Ken you." Masato looked down at his feet, then quickly looked me in the eye. "Aida Ken! I think I-"

All of a sudden the classroom door flew open, bouncing slightly and almost coming off its track. Sakura stood in the doorway, looking at me angrily. "For the love of Canada, Ken-kun! We all know you've been standing out here! Just come in! We're not mad."

"Um, okay." I breathed, a little startled. I glanced at Masato. "I'll see you around."

"Uh… yeah."

I followed Sakura into the classroom and closed the door behind me. Instantly I was aware of the eyes on me. My grip on my school bag tightened and I started to walk. _I just want to get to my seat._ I thought, looking at the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura said, grabbing my arm. She dragged me to the front of the classroom and made me stand there. Then she addressed the room. "We all want to talk to you." She said with a wave of her hand.

As one, the class stood. "Thank you, Ken-kun!" They said, bowing.

I blinked in surprise. "For what?" I asked.

"For having faith in us." Someone in the front row said.

"At first we thought you were just doing it to make yourself feel better as part of class F, the idiots of the school."

"But then Sakura-chan told us everything."

"You're practically a member of class A!"

They all looked up at me. "Yet you still led us to victory against every class!"

I actually felt like I was going to cry. "You mean you aren't mad at me for lying about my abilities?"

"Of course not!" Kanami called. "We're honored that you chose class F."

"And thanks to you," Takumi said.

"Class F is the best class in all of second year!" Yukio finished.

"Let's here it for Ken-kun!" Sakura yelled. "Our class F representative!"

The whole class erupted in cheers. I stood there as they chanted my name, feeling tears on my cheeks. _They aren't mad._ I swallowed back a sob. _They don't hate me._

I turned to Sakura and gave her a big hug. "Thank you." I whispered.

"Group hug!" Sakura shouted.

And in the next instant I was at the bottom of a class F pile. Everyone was laughing and having fun. Even when the teacher came in and directed everyone to their seats, we were still laughing.

_It's true._ I thought. _Class F is the best class._

* * *

**AN: Well, that's the story. Hope you liked it, because I had a lot of fun writing it! As always, thank you for reading it, and, hey, if I feel like it, I may do side stories with the characters. Leave a review if you didn't get enough of any of the characters and I'll seriously consider it, because I really don't want to say goodbye to these characters. **


	17. Sakura the Mangaka

**AN: There's so much that I would have loved to include in this story that just didn't get in. Because I just couldn't leave it at that, I decided to write little 'After the story' things. You don't have to read them if you don't want to, but, hey, you just might like them.**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

"Have a nice day."

_What should I do?_ Aida Sakura wondered as the convenience store doors closed behind her. She looked up at the evening sky. It wasn't yet late enough to see any stars, but the last wisps of color from the setting sun made her smile.

"It will be fine." She whispered to herself. "I'm probably just over thinking things." Despite her brother telling her that she didn't think enough before acting, there were times when Sakura could actually think too much.

Satisfied that everything would be okay, Sakura turned toward home. As she walked, she hummed the tune of her favorite jingle from Canada. As she finished humming it for the third time, something caught her eye.

Sakura stopped mid step and looked to her left. She was standing in front of a bookstore, and the bright display had grabbed her attention. Specifically, a single magazine.

_I guess it came out today._ She thought, walking over and picking up the glossing book. Plastered across the cover was a picture of two high school boys with their foreheads together. There were also little images for the other stories contained in the issue, but it was the two boys that held Sakura's attention.

"Sakura!"

Sakura jumped when the voice came from right beside her. She looked to see her boyfriend, Sakura Jun, grinning at her. Like every time she saw him, her heart lifted and she giggled.

"What are you looking at?" Jun asked. He picked up another copy of the magazine from the display. "'Shounen Embrace'?" He read the title, stumbling a little over the English word. He looked at Sakura with a raised eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

"It's a manga magazine." She said simply, returning the copy in her hands to the display. She would come back later to buy it.

Jun looked back at the copy he was holding. "Hm." He studied the cover.

Sakura wanted to laugh, but she forced herself not to. She didn't want to embarrass Jun. After all, it made sense that he didn't know he was staring intently at a yaoi magazine.

Then Jun turned to her, smiling and pointing at one of the characters on the cover. "Hey, doesn't he kind of look like Ken?"

"I guess." Sakura said, looking away. Actually, the image looked _exactly_ like her twin brother. That was because Ken was the model that the character was based on.

"Come on." Jun nodded at the bookstore doors. "I'll buy it for you."

Sakura could just see how that would go, and she really wanted to laugh. _The looks he'll get!_

Jun frowned at her. "What's with that face?" He asked. "I thought you wanted this magazine."

"I do." Sakura said, then she couldn't keep it in anymore. She burst out laughing. "It's just the thought of you buying it!" She gripped her sides, the bag from the convenience store bouncing against her knee.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura managed to watch as Jun flipped open the magazine. The look of surprise on his face made Sakura think she was going to die. He quickly returned it to the display and glanced around to make sure nobody had seen him.

Sakura took a series of deep breaths. Eventually she managed to get her laughter under control and straightened up. Jun already knew that she liked yaoi, so she wasn't worried about his reaction to her looking at the magazine.

"I, um…" Jun looked uncomfortable, and his face was red.

Sakura knew better than to make him suffer. "Do you have homework?" She asked, offering him an exit.

He took it. "Yes, um, I'll see you tomorrow." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before dashing off.

_You know, he might make an interesting character in one of those stories._ Sakura thought as she watched him go.

* * *

_What comes after the confession scene?_ Sakura wondered. She was lying on her bed, looking at the magazine that she had bought before returning home. It was open to the last page of the cover story. The tough delinquent had just told the innocent transfer student that he liked him.

"Maybe he should have waited to confess." She thought out loud. She tapped a pencil against her cheek. Her sketchbook lay on the bed beside her.

"Sakura!" Her mother called from the bottom of the stairs. "Are you doing your homework?!"

"Yes!" Sakura lied. _This is harder than homework._ She bit her lip, staring at the manga.

"Need any help?"

"Yes!" Sakura screamed before realizing that somebody had to have asked the question. She looked to the door and saw Ken standing there. He had his school bag with him. _Crap._

Ken casually walked into the room. "Step one." He stated. "You need your books to do the homework." He smirked as he sat on the edge of the bed. "What are you really doing?" He glanced at the magazine.

"Ah!" Sakura hurried to close the magazine, but that didn't help.

Ken blinked at the cover. Then he looked Sakura in the face. "Is that me?" He didn't sound happy.

"Uh, um…" Sakura didn't look her brother in the eyes. "Guess what, Ken-kun!" She tried to be cheerful. "Shounen Embrace decided to publish my work!"

"So it is me."

Sakura clapped her hands together and apologized. "I'm really sorry, Ken-kun!"

He sighed. "It's fine, I guess. I mean, it's not like you can change things now, and nobody is going to know that it's me."

"Thank you." Sakura sighed and lowered her head. Then she quickly looked up again. "Ken-kun! What happens after a confession?!"

"How should I know?" Ken challenged her. "You're the one in a relationship."

Sakura huffed. "That's no help." She grabbed her sketchbook and sat up. As fast as she could, she did a preliminary sketch of Ken sitting there. "I need inspiration!"

When she looked up again, Ken had picked up the magazine and was flipping though it. He suddenly shut it and put it down. "That's the day of the summon system upgrades!" He shouted, pointing at it and glaring.

"Yeah, so?" Her inspiration for the story in the first place had been the two altered avatars embracing. Then she got an idea. "All I need is for them to do upgrades again!" She grinned. "Then you and Takumi will summon your avatars, and I'll watch!" _It's brilliant!_

Ken's fist collided with the top of her head. "No!"

"Owchie." Sakura squeaked. She looked at Ken with sad eyes. "But, short of you and Takumi undressing each other-"

Ken hit her again. Then he got up and stormed out of the room.

"Ow." Sakura pouted. "What did I say?" Then she got an idea. _It's perfect!_ She flipped the page in her sketchbook and started working quickly. She laughed as the storyline emerged from her thoughts.

* * *

"Aida!"

"Yeah?" Both Sakura and Ken said at the same time, looking up. Sakura giggled.

They were at school, waiting for class to start, and somebody had thrown open the door. Looking, Sakura recognized Sawatari Ayako walking briskly toward the back of the room. The class A representative had a magazine tucked under her arm, and Sakura craned her neck to see what it was.

Then Ayako slammed the magazine down on Sakura's small table, making the wood creek. "Is this for real?!" She demanded, opening the magazine and pointing.

Sakura looked at what Ayako was pointing at. It was the author name for the cover story. Sakura's stomach fluttered. She wasn't yet used to seeing her name on a published piece. "Yeah."

Sakura was surprised when Ayako kicked Yukio out of the way and sat down on the floor on the other side of the table. She flipped to the end of the cover story. "Is this where it ends?" She demanded.

"Um…" Sakura would have been scared if she hadn't of recognized the crazed look in Ayako's eyes for what it was. The other girl was just as addicted to yaoi as Sakura was. "No. There will be more."

Ayako grabbed Sakura's hands. "You have to let me see it!"

Sakura laughed. She remembered how, when they first met, Ayako had hated Sakura's guts. Sure, they weren't friends yet, but they were making progress. "Alright." Sakura nodded. "If you want, you can give me a bit of input."

"Yes please!" Ayako nodded. Then the warning bell went and she got to her feet. "I'll talk to you later."

As she turned to leave, Ayako's eyes landed on Ken. She made a squealing sound and covered her mouth quickly. Then she ran from the room.

Ken glared at Sakura. "I hate you." He grumbled. Sakura just laughed.


	18. Masato's Feelings

"Today I'm going to do it!" Fujikawa Masato told himself firmly as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He had grown a little taller, and felt more confident now. "Nothing will get in my way!"

When Masato had first tried to confess his feelings to Aida Ken, the class F representative, he had been interrupted by Aida Sakura. Sure, that had left him feeling a little defeated, but he was determined to let Aida Ken know how he felt. So he had tried again.

And again.

And again.

It seemed that no matter how many times Masato approached Aida Ken with the intention of confessing his love, he was thwarted. Aida Ken was almost always with his sister, and when he wasn't, he had another member of class F with him. Masato had started to feel like all of class F was against him.

_But today will be different!_ Something told Masato that today was the day. He was going to do it. As Masato walked to school, he felt his determination filling him. He felt great, and confident. By the end of the day Aida Ken would know how he felt.

Masato faltered. _And then what?_ Yes, he was driven to confess his feelings, but what did he want to come out of it? Did he want Aida Ken to return his feelings? _But we're both guys, so what good will it do?_

Masato gulped. He could feel nerves eating away at his determination. As they did, he became aware of the students around him, who were all whispering.

"I think it's really cute." A third year girl with long pink hair told her friend.

"I guess, but it's not like I can read the story." Her friend replied. "So I really have no idea what's going on."

"It's really well written." A second year from class E said.

The girls around her all replied in confirmation, but the one boy with them didn't seem so thrilled. "But they're both guys. That's just wrong!" He complained.

"Homophobic twat!" One of the girls yelled at him. Masato watched as she started beating the boy with a magazine. The rest of the girls giggled.

"Fujikawa-sama!"

Masato jumped slightly. He turned to see Saito Momoko walking toward him. "Good morning." He greeted her. She wore her short hair down with a blue butterfly clip, and Masato thought that it looked nice.

"Do you know what everyone's going on about?" She asked, nodding around them as they started to walk together.

"Um, no." Masato told her. "Do you?"

Momoko shrugged slightly. "From what I've managed to gather," She began. "One of the idiots in class F wrote and drew a manga that somehow managed to get published."

"Manga?" Masato had never really read a manga before. "Is that like a novel?"

Momoko laughed. "Not even close!" She shook her head. "It's a series of pictures, not words painting a picture."

"Oh." Masato looked around. It seemed like among every group of students, at least one person was holding a copy of the same magazine. "Who wrote it?" He asked, catching a glimpse of the cover of the magazine.

He froze. Was that Aida Ken? He took a slight step closer to the group, squinting to get a better look. Yes. The image on the cover of the magazine looked like a cartoon version of Aida Ken. Masato felt his heart start to race.

"Who else?" Momoko huffed. "The probationary student, Aida Sakura."

"Oh." So that's why the character looked so much like Aida Ken. It was his sister who had created the character.

"But it's a huge scandal!" Momoko continued as she pushed open the doors to the school. Masato followed her inside. "The subject of the story is just… just…" Momoko shuddered. "I can't even say it!" She opened her school bag and pulled out a copy of the magazine. "Sana-chan made me take this." She pushed it into Masato's hands. "It's just horrible!"

_Horrible?_ Hesitantly, Masato flipped the magazine open. He almost gasped out loud when he saw one of the images. He had to remind himself that the drawing he was looking at was _not_ Aida Ken.

_But it looks so much like him._ Masato absentmindedly rested a hand on the image. The character was standing in a park, smiling kindly. Masato remembered seeing Aida Ken smile in a similar way. Masato's heart started to beat really fast.

Then he turned the page and almost dropped the magazine. The character that looked so much like Aida Ken was being kissed… by a character that Masato recognized.

Masato remembered the events that took place two months ago. When the summoning system was being upgraded. The image he had seen when he looked into the class F classroom was burned into his mind. He was sure that, as long as he lived, he would never forget the image of Aida Ken being embraced by one of his classmates.

_But they were just the avatars._ Masato reminded himself. He closed the magazine and passed it back to Momoko. _Aida Ken wasn't actually doing that with his classmate._

"This kind of thing should be banned from school, right?" Momoko pressed him. "It's just wrong!"

Masato glanced at Momoko. _Wrong?_ He had thought that for the longest time after he had first seen Aida Ken. Now he was managing to accept the fact that he had feelings for another boy. _Is it really wrong?_ Masato shook his head. _It can't be._

He quickly ran away from Momoko. He wasn't going to let her words into his head. _Today, I'm going to tell him!_ Masato reminded himself of his declaration. _I will tell him._

Masato turned a corner and froze where he was. There, standing just a few feet in front of him, was Aida Ken! He was with his sister and the class B representative, but Masato barely noticed them.

"Aida Ken!" He called out, forcing himself to walk toward the three students. When Aida Ken turned to him, he thought he was going to die. His heart was just pounding too much.

"Fujikawa-kun." Aida Ken looked a little surprised. Then he smiled. "Are you here to challenge us again?"

"Bring it on!" Aida Sakura declared.

"Um, no." Masato gulped. Then he took a deep breath. _Just do it!_ He told himself. He took one final step, so that he was standing right in front of Aida Ken. He gulped again. _It will be fine._

Before he could logically think about what he was doing, Masato grabbed Aida Ken's shoulders. When Aida Ken opened his mouth to say something, Masato leaned forward. He pressed his lips against Aida Ken's and closed his eyes.

_I did it._ He thought, just as his ears started to ring. He stumbled back, feeling a little dizzy. The air around him was filled with some sort of high pitched sound. Masato stumbled into a wall and sunk to the floor. His ears felt like they were bleeding.

Then he blacked out.

* * *

_What in the world happened?_ Masato thought. He was starting to wake up, and he was aware that he was lying on his back. There was something wrapped around him. Without opening his eyes, Masato guessed that he was in the nurse's office.

Then he opened his eyes and changed his mind. He must have been dreaming.

Aida Ken was standing beside his bed, looking worried. Then his face lit up when he saw that Masato's eyes were open. "You're awake!" He cried.

"Um… yeah." Masato sat up. His ears still hurt a little, but it was nothing compared to the bleeding feeling from earlier. "What happened?"

"It was the cry of the fujoshi." Aida Ken said, completely serious.

"What?"

He sighed. "Sakura freaked out." He said, shaking his head. "I'm really sorry."

"For what?" Masato asked. He rubbed the side of his head, patting a hand over his ear. There didn't seem to be any permanent damage. "There's no harm done."

Aida Ken sat down on the side of the bed, making Masato's heart jump. "I should have reacted faster." He mumbled. "If I had of gotten my hand over her mouth sooner, maybe you wouldn't have passed out."

"It's my fault!" Masato insisted. "I'm the one who-" He suddenly couldn't say it. He couldn't admit to what he had done.

"You really surprised me." Aida Ken said. Masato watched as he raised a hand and touched his mouth thoughtfully. "I never thought that my first kiss would be with another guy."

_First kiss?_ Masato's eyes grew wide. He knew that it shouldn't surprise him, since they were middle school students, but it still did. _I stole his first kiss._ The realization made Masato feel like crap.

"I'm sorry." Masato whispered. He pulled back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm really sorry." He found his shoes and slipped them on.

"What are you talking about?" Aida Ken asked.

Masato didn't answer him. He just stood up, turned to the door, and ran. He didn't know where he was going, but that didn't matter. He just had to get away from Aida Ken.

_I never should have done it!_ He shouted inwardly.

Masato only realized where he was when he shut his bedroom door. He collapsed on his bed and reached under the mattress. He pulled out the loose bit of paper that he had hidden there. It was a clipping from the school newspaper, a photo of Aida Ken's victory over Sawatari Ayako. He had kept it because it was a wonderful shot that had both Aida Ken and his avatar laughing.

Masato stared at the image, a sad smile coming to his face. _I never should have let my feeling's show._

* * *

**AN: Sorry it's been so long. I actually thought I had already posted this one. Now I feel bad, because I really like this one and I have a feeling that others will too. Enjoy!  
**


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